Conservationists are on the verge of forcing county officials to conduct in-depth environmental reviews of plans to remove dead and dying trees from the backcountry that could fuel wildfires.

They’ve pinned their hopes on a case heard yesterday in San Diego Superior Court that likely will affect a long list of similar projects planned locally and in other fire-prone parts of California.

Judge Ronald Prager issued a tentative ruling in support of the California Chaparral Institute in Escondido. The nonprofit group sued county officials in hopes of slowing the planned work and altering the $7 million, multiyear project, which includes clearing thousands of trees that are within 500 feet of homes and evacuation routes in the Julian area.

Prager is expected to issue his final decision next week. His comments from the bench yesterday suggested he’s not inclined to change his mind.

“There is not an imminent danger of any particular fire,” he said. “This is the type of thing that ought to have an environmental review.”

At issue is whether San Diego County officials correctly used an emergency exemption for the project, which they billed as a way to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires such as those that blackened a total of more than 760,000 acres in 2003 and 2007.

The county’s stance reflects the idea that blazes can spread out of control with little warning. Based on that sense of urgency, they said government officials didn’t have time for the standard ecological assessment required by the California Environmental Quality Act. That process includes looking at various animals and habitat along with taking public comments.

Environmental reviews can last two years and the traditional start of fire season is just six months away, said Carra Rhamy, a senior deputy county counsel.

“Time is of the essence in implementing this project before the onset of additional fires,” Rhamy said. “The longer it takes to remove trees that can be fuel, the more risk there is to the citizens.”

If her arguments sway Prager, the cutting of trees could start in May.

If not, Rhamy said any decision to appeal is up to county supervisors.

The chaparral institute sued the county in June, challenging what it called a “misguided campaign against nature.” The wildlands conservation group, formed in 2004, said wildfire conditions have been building for decades and that county executives have had plenty of time to do a full-blown environmental study.

“We want to prevent the loss of life and property from fires, but there is a good way to do that and a bad way,” said institute Director Richard Halsey.

“We are going to follow through in making sure that taxpayer dollars are not wasted and habitat is not unnecessarily compromised.”

Halsey said the county’s vegetation management plan will needlessly harm terrain that makes San Diego County one of the most biologically diverse spots in the nation. Specifically, he opposes the proposed 500-foot buffer zone for roads and homes, saying it should be less than half that distance.